One of my clients is a Limited company which does commercial window cleaning. It is not registered under CIS and doesn't need to be. However a new customer is insisting on knowing the UTR number otherwise they will not add the company to their contractor list. I have emailed the accountant and he has said that the UTR number will be on correspondence regarding corporation tax, but that I should be careful who I give it to. I have told this customer that the company isn't registered under CIS and they have said that they know that, but that they need it before adding us to their contractor list.
Shall I continue to argue the point or just let them know what it is? Why would the accountant say to be careful who I give it to?
Why not speak to the client and get them to pass on the UTR if they want to continue being a supplier to this company. I know that many larger organisations (especially councils) are terrible with the information they require and are unwavering to boot. I would suggest bouncing the ball back to the client and letting them decide whether to pass this on or not, though I'm not sure why the accountant has said to be careful who you give it to.
I had the same request the other week. My client occasionally supplies sandwiches to a large construction company, like you I couldn't understand why the needed the UTR. I did what Kris suggested and gave the client their UTR and left it up to them to pass it on, which they did because they weren't getting paid without it.
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Tony
Responses are intended as outline only. Formal advice should be sort from your Institutes Technical Department or a suitably qualified Accountant.
Many thanks for your replies Kris and Tony. I had spoken to the client already and he has left it up to me But as you said, if they don't get it my client probably won't get paid! So I'll pass it on then. I did some work for a construction company once under CIS and if they had a new contractor to be paid they would always verify them with HMRC first to see what their tax status was (i.e. whether they should be paid gross or have tax deducted) so maybe they need it for this purpose, even though my client is not registered under CIS.
But as you said, if they don't get it my client probably won't get paid! So I'll pass it on then. I did some work for a construction company once under CIS and if they had a new contractor to be paid they would always verify them with HMRC first to see what their tax status was (i.e. whether they should be paid gross or have tax deducted) so maybe they need it for this purpose, even though my client is not registered under CIS.
